By Anne Davis

Organizing your home, business or even your vehicles takes time, but whatever time you spend pays you back in spades by saving you unnecessary steps day after day.

If you have multiple spaces that need to be cleared out, make sure you don’t psych yourself out before you even begin by planning this as a corner-by-corner or cupboard-by-cupboard process.   You don’t have to organize everything all at once!  Once you clear out that first space, you’ll feel so good that you’ll be motivated to keep going.

Living Room

Use big covered baskets to hide toys, newspapers and magazines;

Go through the room and plan to pack away extra trinkets and decorative pieces, allow three per surface and put away the rest.  You’ll have less to dust and your room will feel neater and more spacious.

If you’re in the market for new furniture, include pieces with built-in storage such as hollow footstools, or coffee tables with shelves, bookcases with doors on the lower half;

Bedroom

Go through your clothes.  Get rid of anything that is torn or stained.  Rip it into smaller pieces; put it in bags and use for cleaning rags;

Take a hard look at what you own.  If you haven’t worn something in over a year, it’s unlikely that you’ll ever wear it again!  Take it to a consignment store or a thrift shop or give it away.

Garage/Basement

Make three piles: keep, donate, and discard – be ruthless!

Follow the “organize, then containerize” rule, sort out nails, nuts, bolts, screws, whatever and store like things together in old jars or boxes;

Clean your tools and hang them up. Peg boards are ideal but simple hooks or nails on a board that is then attached to the wall will work as well and you won’t have to search through piles of stuff to find them.

Kitchen

Clean out the fridge.  Take everything out and check expiry dates.  Throw out anything that is borderline. Wipe down the surfaces with a wet cloth or sponge with baking soda sprinkled on it;

Take vegetables out of plastic wrap and store them in the crispers. Store all the beverages on one shelf, leftovers on another and condiments on the door;

Go through your cupboards with the same process in mind, wipe down the shelves and keep similar things together – canned goods, baking items, jars of spices, bagged or boxed snacks, etc.  Store packets of sauces and spices neatly in baskets.

Store the jars of spices close to the stove for quick access and dishes close to the sink/dishwasher for easier unloading.

Take that first step toward organizing your life – you’ll be so happy you did!

Anne Davis is a writer, blogger, artist and photography buff.  Born in Quebec, she now lives in Kimberley, BC where she is editor of and contributor to the City of Kimberley’s Active Community Guide and webmaster for the City’s websites.

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